Hash House Harriers in Singapore

The Hash is a social trail run, or walk, with a stubborn sense of humour attached. Hares lay a trail in flour, chalk or paper, the pack spends about an hour working out where it goes, and then everyone gathers in a circle for drinks, songs and mild public punishment. Singapore has a kennel running on most evenings of the week, and they don't all move at the same pace or share the same culture.

The short version for a first run: pick a kennel that takes you (two of the weeknight ones are men only), check its website for this week's start point, turn up before the start with a change of clothes and $15 to $30 for the guest fee, and stay for the circle.

Which kennel runs when

If you're a woman, Monday and Tuesday are the two to skip. Hash House Harriers Singapore, founded in 1962 and calling itself the “Father Hash”, says plainly that it's a men-only chapter, and Seletar is a men's hash too. The Harriets are women-led, with men welcome as guests and regulars. Lion City has run every Friday since 1982 and takes men and women.

Lion City's own pages don't agree on its guest fee. The FAQ and the membership page say $20 for women and $25 for men, while the subscriptions page says $15 and $20, so bring the higher amount. At Lion City, the Harriets and the Sunday Hash, the guest fee covers the run and whatever you drink after it and during the circle, until the circle is declared over. Dinner afterwards is extra.

Lion City's list of Singapore hashes also names a dog hash for dogs and dog lovers on the first Saturday of the month, and a bike hash on Sundays. Ask at a circle for their current dates before you turn up with a dog or a bike.

How a first run works

1. Get there early. Lion City wants you at the run site by 5:55pm for its 6pm start, the Harriets suggest 5:45pm, and the Sunday Hash asks for 4:30pm for a 5pm start. The Harriets advise first-timers not to turn up late and try to catch up. Under the trail guidelines the kennels share, the sweeper picks up the marks behind the pack, so a latecomer may find nothing left to follow.
2. Find the Hash Cash, the person collecting money. Pay your guest fee and introduce yourself as a virgin or a visitor if that's the kennel's language. If you don't know a soul, say hello to anyone and they'll introduce you around.
3. Listen to the briefing. The hares explain the trail marks before the start.
4. Follow the trail. Shout “On On” when you spot a mark. A circle is a check, where the trail could go in any direction, so the pack fans out to find it. Lines or a T across the trail mean a false trail, so head back to the last check. Inside nature reserves the trail is marked with toilet paper only, under guidelines the Singapore kennels agreed with NParks, so look for paper rather than flour there.
5. Stick with a regular. The Harriets tell newcomers to stay with a seasoned hasher rather than follow the short-cutters, who stand a very good chance of getting lost.
6. Stay for the circle. Once the last runner is in, the Grand Master or Mistress or one of the hares opens the circle. The hares get the first down-down, and visitors get called in too. A down-down means drinking from the mug until it leaves your lips, then turning it upside down over your head.
7. Go to the On-On if you can. That's dinner afterwards, nearby or on site, and it's optional and paid separately.

A well-laid run should take about an hour, with the fastest runners and the slowest joggers back within minutes of each other. Good hares use false trails and checks to hold the front runners up. The Harriets and Seletar both put the distance at 7 to 10 km. Walkers are welcome at Lion City, the Harriets and the Sunday Hash, so fitness is optional and, frankly, so is consistency. Friendliness isn't.

You don't have to drink. The Harriets keep Sprite, coconut water, water and iced tea for the circle, Seletar allows a soda down-down, and the Sunday Hash has soft drinks for “the abstemious”. Regulars eventually get a hash name and are called by it from then on. At Seletar it comes with your sixth run.

What to bring

You'll get muddy and very sweaty, and nobody wants you in their car in your running kit afterwards.

• Shoes you don't mind ruining. Trail shoes are best but not essential, and long socks or light long trousers help in the undergrowth
• A change of clothes, a towel, and slippers or fresh shoes for after
• Plastic bags for the wet, muddy kit
• A water bottle to drink from, plus a big bottle of water to rinse off with (Lion City suggests 1.5 litres). Hash House Harriers Singapore provides rinse water at the site, and the Harriets usually do
• Insect repellent
• A torch or headlamp if the kennel says so. On a typical Harriets Wednesday the pack is back around 7.15pm and the circle starts around 8pm
• Cash for the guest fee and the On-On. The Harriets also take PayNow, and the Sunday Hash suggests an extra $10 for a taxi back to the start if you get lost

Most hashers come straight from work and stash their laptops and bags in a fellow hasher's car boot. If you're new, ask the Hash Cash or a committee member where to leave your things. It's a quick way to meet people, too.

Hydrate before you start. Singapore heat isn't a European spring 10k and it will find you out. For kit that copes with the humidity, see what to wear.

Getting to the start

Start points move every week, often to a car park, and some aren't near an MRT station. The kennels post the run site on their websites, most with a map. Lion City and the Harriets also list the nearest MRT station and bus numbers, the Sunday Hash normally posts its details by the Friday before the run, and the Horrors email members about five to seven days ahead.

If you don't drive, ask a regular for a lift. At the Harriets you can ask in the Chit Chat channel of their WhatsApp community. Otherwise take a taxi: most drivers have taken someone to a hash run before, and giving them the run site name or postcode helps. For the buses and trains, see MRT and bus basics.

Rain, lightning and public holidays

Rain won't stop Seletar, which runs every Tuesday whatever the weather, and the Horrors say the same. Lightning on an exposed trail is a different matter, so check the alerts before you set off and read lightning and thunderstorms. The Harriets warn that on public holidays the start time can change, usually to earlier, so check the kennel's page that week.

Costs and becoming a member

Hashing is cheap next to a club membership, but it isn't free. A guest run costs $15 to $30, which at most kennels includes your drinks, and dinner is on top: Hash House Harriers Singapore asks everyone to bring $15 for it, and Kampong reckons $20 should do. If you keep going, a subscription works out cheaper per run: the Harriets put membership at about $11.67 a run for men and $9.17 for women.

Joining is simple. Come as a guest for one or two runs, and if you like it, join. The Sunday Hash says you don't need permission or an invitation to try it. At Lion City you print the membership form from its website, fill it in and hand it to any committee member. Seletar and Kampong also post application forms on their sites, and Seletar's contacts page says to email the On Secs if you need to get in touch.

Special runs can be priced separately, members included. Lion City's anniversary run on 14 November 2026, for example, charges members as well as guests, and the fee covers free-flow drinks and dinner.

Kids and families

Hash House Horrors is the kids' hash. It runs on alternate Sundays at 4.30pm somewhere on the island, the trail takes about an hour, and afterwards there's dinner, ice cream and games if time allows. The site's advice is that adults only have to be as fast as their child if they want to keep up. The Horrors run whatever the weather, so pack light long trousers, shoes with grip, a hat, insect repellent and a dry set of clothes. Members get the venue by email, and visitors find it through the website.

Kampong takes over-18s only, and the Sunday Hash describes its hashers as anyone of legal drinking age, so the Horrors are the one to bring children to. For other weekend options for children, see kids activities.

Whether it suits you

The appeal isn't complicated. It's a ritual that happens every week whether or not you organised it, you can turn up alone, and the pack is genuinely mixed by nationality and age in a way most expat social scenes aren't. Then there's the circle after the trail, which is where the actual social hour happens and where the names stick.

It isn't for everyone. The humour can be crude, and if that's not your tone, that's fine. Go once as a guest before you judge the whole movement either way, and try two kennels before you declare a home pack, because cultures differ more than a table can show. If you also want passport-cluster events on the nights you aren't running, add nationality groups.

Treat one kennel as a hub rather than your whole social plan. Pair it with hobby sports communities, sports & ActiveSG, and find my people. If the hash turns out not to be for you, leave without guilt. There are other weekly sports here, and volunteering reaches a different crowd again.